Does average running position matter on super speedways?
Not really.
That's a chart of average running position against average finish of all driver seasons since 2020, minimum four starts. The point at the bottom is Denny Hamlin's 2020, where he had an AFP of 2.25.
Check the stats here:
NASCAR Cup Series Driver Stats - Lap Raptor
Advanced analytics and loop data for all NASCAR series
Justin Barber
I was curious after writing up the Talladega preview. This dataset is full-race ARPs. Next to look at would be whether running position gets more predictive later in the race on supers. That'd allow looking on the relationship on a race-by-race basis.
Stat Pack: 2024 Cup Series YellaWood 500 Preview
@ Talladega Superspeedway (2.66 mi) Picks: Super speedways are always tricky to predict. The best finishers on supers this year are Kyle Busch (10.20 AFP) and Alex Bowman (11.00). They’ve also finished every race, which is a good sign on supers, but so have nine others. Busch and
Justin Barber